Chapter 31: The Unexpected Killer

It was summer, and the weather was scorching.

The sun outside the territory was even more intense, blinding and drying the land. In the distance, the green mountains looked like undulating green ribbons. The sky was clear and blue, and a yellow dirt road stretched straight into the forest.

Hunt! A cry echoed in the sky, and a black dot flew by.

Soon, the sound of galloping hooves came from one end of the road, growing louder as two horned horses galloped towards them. The lead rider was fierce-looking, dressed in black, with a single eye patch. The rider behind was clad in armor, clearly the border village patrol officer, Zhou Genwei.

"Senior One-Eye, I originally wanted to stop the little waste from leaving the territory. But then I thought, since he has the protection of a fairy in the Heavenly Will, it would be better to let him go outside the territory! So I deliberately set up a tight exterior and loose interior, forcing him to leave," Zhou Genwei said, laughing loudly as he rode.

"Otherwise, how would we have the chance to kill him?" The one-eyed man smiled coldly.

Zhou Genwei continued, "Logically, the boy shouldn't have gone far, probably just half an hour out of the city."

The one-eyed man said, "If he's moving, my hawk will find him."

Zhou Genwei replied, "But if he hides in the forest, we won't be able to find him."

"Then let's go to the native city and wait for him!" The one-eyed man spurred his horned horse, accelerating forward.

"Ride!" Zhou Genwei followed closely behind.

After the two disappeared, the dust settled, and the yellow dirt road returned to its calm. At this moment, a black-clad figure jumped down from a dense tree by the roadside.

"Zhou Genwei, I never thought you would really try to kill me!" Ding Hao thought that he and Zhou Genwei didn't have deep enmity, but the other party had already decided to kill him, chasing him to vent his anger!

"The only reason he has such murderous thoughts is because I am weak and easy to kill! Such a person, who bullies the weak, deserves to die!"

Ding Hao suspected that someone might be chasing him, so shortly after leaving the border village, he climbed up a tree by the roadside. Not long after, he indeed saw Zhou Genwei and a one-eyed man chasing after him.

"Looks like I need to be more careful." Ding Hao opened his storage bag and called out, "Da Huang, come out."

In the wild, Da Huang's sharp nose played a crucial role. After following Ding Hao for a long time, Da Huang's sense of smell was terrifying.

"You, grass dog, do your best. If I die, you'll only be eating shit." Ding Hao's figure disappeared into the forest.

"Woof woof!" Da Huang barked unhappily.

Ding Hao didn't dare to walk on the main road or venture too deep into the forest, so he followed the road.

Along the way, Da Huang helped him avoid many dangers. Each time, Da Huang would scout ahead, and only when it was safe would Ding Hao move forward.

However, after a while, Da Huang barked fiercely at something behind them.

"Someone is following me?" Ding Hao stopped, frowning.

"Woof." Da Huang, now very intelligent, could understand human speech.

"How could someone be following me?"

Ding Hao couldn't figure it out. "It might be passersby. Let's change our position to avoid them."

But as they continued, Da Huang's barks became more urgent.

"Bad, he knows my position and is tracking me!" Ding Hao felt sweat on his back, not expecting to encounter danger so soon. He remained calm, took out a map, and saw, "Not far ahead is a grassy plain. It's more convenient to go there."

The grassy plain was covered with grass as tall as a person. The tips of the grass were golden yellow, while the leaves were emerald green. A gentle breeze blew, and the golden tips of the grass were pressed down, turning the yellow plain into a green world.

Ding Hao walked into the grass, crouched down, and immediately disappeared.

"Where is my little rabbit?"

A black-clad figure emerged from the forest behind, holding a jade talisman, and walked over with a sinister smile.

The black-clad figure came to the grass, looked down at the jade talisman, and said, "You're nearby, little rabbit. You can't run, you're my prey!"

This was a tracking talisman, with a red dot on it indicating the prey was nearby.

"Boy, be honest, come out." The black-clad figure walked into the tall grass.

"Right ahead!" The black-clad figure put away the jade talisman and walked over.

But as he took a step, there was a loud bang, and a large flame shot up from under his feet!

"Inferno Fruit!"

The black-clad figure quickly retreated, and Ding Hao jumped out, using the Nine-Fold Fire Palm, the second fold!

Bang! Ding Hao's palm sent the black-clad figure reeling back seven or eight steps.

"Boy, not bad, you dare to ambush me." The flames around them ignited the tall grass, and the black-clad figure sneered.

Ding Hao said coldly, "Who are you, and why are you following me?"

"Me?" The black-clad figure was taken aback, then laughed loudly. "Boy, you're really good at acting! To call yourself 'old' at the First Stage of Innate, and to venture outside the territory, you're really asking for death!"

Ding Hao was startled; this person seemed to know him.

Who is this person?

"Surprised?" The black-clad figure laughed, lifted his arm, and pulled off his black cloak, revealing a pale-faced man.

"It's you!" Ding Hao had suspected many people, but he never expected this one.

This was the pale-faced man who sold him the black cloak!

"Surprised, aren't you?" The pale-faced man smiled coldly, slowly putting the black cloak into his storage bag.

Ding Hao immediately understood.

"So, you were already watching me when you sold me the black cloak!" Ding Hao's eyes were calm. "There must be some tracking mechanism in the black cloak. As soon as I left the border village, you could follow me to rob and kill me!"

"You're quite smart." The pale-faced man sneered. "Just selling the black cloak wouldn't make much money. Killing and robbing is the way to wealth! Every time I see those reckless little guys, I give them a special cloak! Just like you, at the First Stage of Innate, venturing outside the territory to find death. If I don't kill you, someone else will!"

Ding Hao said coldly, "Outside the territory is indeed full of dangers. You must have killed many like me, right?"

"Ten or eight, at least. To be honest, I got all my armor and weapons this way!" The pale-faced man said proudly. "At the First Stage of Innate, you're not much of a challenge. Come on, hand over your storage bag, and I'll give you a quick death."

"Will you spare my life if I give you my storage bag?" Ding Hao asked.

"No way." The pale-faced man shook his head. "If I let you go, how can I do business in the future? Besides, I'm only at the Fifth Stage of Innate. If you have any background, I'm dead. Enough talk, the path of cultivation is like this. Only by stepping on the bones of others can you rise higher. Accept your fate!"

"So, you're only at the Fifth Stage of Innate!" Ding Hao laughed coldly.

"The Fifth Stage of Innate is enough to kill you!"

"Is that so?" Ding Hao slowly took off his black cloak, revealing his young face.

"What? You're actually at the Third Stage of Innate! I clearly saw you at the First Stage, and you broke through in just a few days. How is that possible?" The pale-faced man was shocked, as if he had seen a ghost.

He couldn't believe that Ding Hao had advanced from the First Stage to the Third Stage in just a few days.

But he quickly calmed down. "The Third Stage of Innate is nothing. I'm at the Fifth Stage! One is in the middle stage, the other in the early stage. The difference is huge, and you will die in the end!"

The pale-faced man's eyes turned cold.

"Let's see who dies!" Ding Hao was not afraid of the Fifth Stage of Innate.

After all, Ding Hao's original core was extremely large, and at the Third Stage of Innate, he had more spiritual energy than most people at the Fourth Stage. So, the Fifth Stage of Innate was not much stronger than him. Trying to bully the weak, you've met your match this time!

"Tiger Roar Fist!"

The pale-faced man practiced the common Tiger Roar Fist, which was powerful and fierce. Despite the flames igniting the tall grass around him, the wind from his punches kept the flames from touching his body.

"Surprisingly, it's the Tiger Roar Fist." Ding Hao's eyes showed mockery, and he shouted, "Nine-Fold Fire Palm!"

Ding Hao had been practicing the Nine-Fold Fire Palm for a few days, but he had no combat experience. This was his first time using it in a life-or-death struggle, so he was a bit inexperienced.

"Nine-Fold Fire Palm! So powerful!"

The pale-faced man was initially surprised by Ding Hao's powerful fist, but then he sneered. "You've only learned the second fold! No combat experience, full of flaws! You think you can defeat me with this? It's a pipe dream!"

"Roaring Tiger Descends the Mountain!" The pale-faced man roared and clashed with Ding Hao.

The Tiger Roar Fist was very powerful, and with his mastery, the pale-faced man quickly gained the upper hand. "Again!"

He threw another punch.

Ding Hao gradually became more proficient and used the third fold of the Nine-Fold Fire Palm, which was twice as powerful!

"Roaring Tiger Shakes the Mountains!" The pale-faced man immediately increased his spiritual energy and used a stronger Tiger Roar Fist technique.

The pale-faced man thought, "I'm at the Fifth Stage of Innate, and you're at the Third Stage. I just need to drain your spiritual energy, and you will die!"

They exchanged seven or eight punches, and the pale-faced man began to feel uneasy.

"Something's wrong. This boy still has spiritual energy. If this continues, I might run out first! He must be a genius with extremely strong spiritual energy. I need to use some capital!"

With this thought, the pale-faced man took a step back and nodded. "Little rabbit, I didn't expect you to have such strong spiritual energy at the Third Stage of Innate. You're a good seed, but it's a pity you met me. Ha, I didn't expect to kill a genius today. What a joy!"

"Enough, no more games." The pale-faced man took out a refined hand crossbow from his storage bag and smiled coldly. "This top-grade hand crossbow, each arrow costs five thousand taels! Since you're a genius, it's worth it. Don't struggle, you will die in the end!"

"Is that so?" Ding Hao knew he couldn't consider the cost anymore.

He quickly took out a porcelain bottle from his storage bag, crushed it, and threw it under his feet.

Whoosh! The seeds and spiritual soil in the bottle landed on the ground and began to grow rapidly. Green vines quickly wrapped around Ding Hao's body.

The green vines quickly aged, turning from green to dark purple, forming a hard vine armor, leaving only Ding Hao's eyes exposed.

"Spent five thousand taels and still complaining? My vine armor costs thirty yuan stones! Let's see who dies!"

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